Cavaliers trade rumors: 4 teams who could trade for Jarrett Allen
The Denver Nuggets won the NBA Championship last season with exactly one poor shooter in the starting lineup, and even Aaron Gordon hit 34.7 percent of his 2.5 3-pointers per game. The year before, the Golden State Warriors had one non-shooter and one reluctant shooter in the starting lineup, but even then pulled Kevon Looney for Otto Porter Jr. (a stretch-4, essentially) during the NBA Finals.
The Milwaukee Bucks won the season before with a stretch-5 unlocking the spacing around their inside-dominant superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. They beat the Phoenix Suns, who had four willing shooters around a post scorer in Deandre Ayton. When the Warriors won their most recent title they played a Boston Celtics team that started one non-shooter but frequently shifted into a 5-out look with Al Horford at center.
The Cavaliers are fighting against modern history
The modern NBA doesn't have a good example of a team thriving with two players who don't shoot at all from outside the arc. That's the template the Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to succeed with. It's possible that Evan Mobley develops an outside shot as his career goes on, but it's not a part of it at the moment; Mobley is just 2-for-10 from deep in 21 games, and 83 percent of his shots come in the paint.
Given that 93 percent of Jarrett Allen's shots come from the paint, the Cavs are starting from a place of weakness whenever they step onto the court on offense. The pairing is obviously incredible defensively, which is why the Cavaliers have won so much despite the lack of spacing, but at some point it may become a problem they can't paper over any longer.
If the Cavs reach that point, who could be interested in trading for Jarrett Allen? Center is the most difficult position to trade because teams can't (realistically) play two of them, and there are plenty of viable options available inexpensively in free agency each season. Allen is obviously an upgrade on players like Mason Plumlee, Drew Eubanks and Jock Landale, but how much of one?
The Cavs' trade market will be limited, but it only takes one team to be interested enough to make an offer. Knowing the trade landscape will help the Cavaliers know when to shop Allen and how to play interested teams off of one another.
Let's look at 4 teams that could trade for Jarrett Allen, starting with a team in their own division.